System and method for automatic payment of financial obligations

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a method for managing funds in anticipation of paying at least two financial obligations, such as an estimated tax payment and a mortgage payment. The due dates and amounts due are determined from customer financial information. During an escrow period leading up to the first obligation due date, amounts of money are transferred on at least two occasions from a customer account into a second account, whereby the combined value of the transferred amounts substantially matches the estimated tax or other amount due for the first obligation. The transfer amounts and/or timing are adjusted so as to maintain sufficient funds in the customer account for paying the other obligations. The transferred money is used to automatically pay the first obligation on or near the due date. In embodiments, the customer can access the money in the second account until the first financial obligation is paid.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.11/623,083, filed on Jan. 14, 2007, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/862,474, filed Oct. 23, 2006. Each ofthese applications is herein incorporated by reference in its entiretyfor all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to methods for financial management, and moreparticularly, to methods for managing revenue in preparation for paymentof debts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

At present, tax authorities, such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)provide paper vouchers to tax payers for estimating taxes. The taxpayers or their accountants may manually maintain the payment stream tothe taxing authorities. Internal Revenue Bulletin #IR-2006-28 dated Feb.14, 2006 indicates that third-party involvement in reporting orwithholding tax payments increases the compliance of tax paymentpractices. For example, taxes reported under Schedule C, subject torelatively less typical 3rd party-reporting or withholding, has a netmisreporting of 57% of wage information, while taxes reported under W-2,subject to typical 3rd party-reporting or withholding has a netmisreporting of 1% of wage information. Information misreported underSchedule C contributes to a $68 billion dollar annual payment deficit tothe IRS.

A need exists for a means for automatically providing services thatminimize noncompliant payments to the taxing authority by Schedule Ctaxpayers, which may result in costly interest and penalty charges.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and system foraccepting financial information from a customer regarding a financialobligation such as an estimated tax payment due to a taxing authorityand a date by which the estimated tax or other payment of a financialobligation is due. Amounts of money are periodically impounded from anaccount held by the customer, where each amount periodically impoundedcan be less than the estimated tax or other payment due, and thecombined value of the amounts impounded by the date substantially matchthe estimated tax payment or other payment due.

One general aspect of the present invention is a financial managementmethod executed by a data processing system for automatic payment of afirst financial obligation of a customer without reducing, avoiding, ordeferring any portion of the first financial obligation, the firstfinancial obligation being due to a first creditor by a first paymentdue date. The method includes receiving financial data corresponding tothe customer, the financial data including data regarding the firstfinancial obligation as well as data regarding a second financialobligation of the customer. The method further includes during an escrowperiod leading up to the first payment due date, reserving customerfunds for payment of the second financial obligation. The method alsoincludes in at least two transactions prior to or on the first paymentdue date, transferring by means of one or more data messages amounts ofmoney from a monetary source corresponding to the customer to a secondaccount, where the sum of the transferred amounts of money isapproximately equal to or more than the first payment amount, thetransfers being adjusted in at least one of timing and amount so as toavoid depleting the funds reserved for payment of the second financialobligation. And in addition, the method includes in a single transactionprior to or on the first payment due date, transferring from the secondaccount, by means of one or more data messages, an amount of moneyapproximately equal to or more than the first payment amount to anaccount held or controlled by the first creditor, thereby meeting thefirst financial obligation without reducing, avoiding, or deferring anyportion of the first financial obligation.

In embodiments, reserving customer funds for payment of the secondfinancial obligation includes reserving a fixed amount of funds.

In some embodiments, reserving customer funds for payment of the secondfinancial obligation includes reserving a variable amount of funds. Inother embodiments, reserving customer funds for payment of the secondfinancial obligation includes reserving an estimated amount of funds. Instill other embodiments, the funds reserved for payment of the secondfinancial obligation are held in the same monetary source from which theamounts of money are transferred to the second account.

Various embodiments further include monitoring during the escrow periodan amount of funds available to the customer, calculating a net amountof available funds by subtracting the funds reserved for payment of thesecond financial obligation from the amount of funds available to thecustomer, and determining at least one of when to transfer money to thesecond account and how much money to transfer to the second accountaccording to the net amount of available funds. And in some of theseembodiments monitoring the amount of funds available to the customerincludes monitoring a balance of funds in the monetary source from whichthe amounts of money are transferred to the second account.

In embodiments, the first creditor is a taxing authority. In some ofthese embodiments, the first financial obligation is an estimated taxpayment. And some of these embodiments further include determining theestimated tax due as a function of the received financial data.

In certain embodiments the second financial obligation is payable on amonthly basis. In some embodiments, the second financial obligation is amortgage payment.

In some embodiment, the transfers to the second account are madeaccording to a schedule of periodic transfers, the amounts of thetransfers being adjusted so as to avoid depleting the funds reserved forpayment of the second financial obligation. In other embodiments thetransfers to the second account are made according to a schedule oftransfer amounts, the timing of the transfers being adjusted so as toavoid depleting the funds reserved for payment of the second financialobligation.

In certain embodiments the second account belongs to an entity otherthan the customer. In some embodiments the monetary source is at leastone of a bank account, a stock portfolio account, and a trust fund.Other embodiments further include borrowing money so as to provide fundsfor transfer to the second account.

In various embodiments the transfers to the second account occurapproximately one of hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, andannually.

In some embodiments, the amounts of money transferred from the monetarysource to the second account remain accessible to the customer untilthey have been transferred to the account held or controlled by thefirst creditor.

And various embodiments further include during the escrow periodreserving customer funds for payment of a plurality of financialobligations other than the first financial obligation.

Another general aspect of the present invention is a computer-readablenon-transitory medium containing instructions that can be executed by acomputer, causing the computer to perform a financial management methodexecuted by a data processing system for automatic payment of a firstfinancial obligation of a customer without reducing, avoiding, ordeferring any portion of the first financial obligation, the firstfinancial obligation being due to a first creditor by a first paymentdue date. The method includes receiving financial data corresponding tothe customer, the financial data including data regarding the firstfinancial obligation as well as data regarding a second financialobligation of the customer. The method further includes during an escrowperiod leading up to the first payment due date, reserving customerfunds for payment of the second financial obligation. The method alsoincludes in at least two transactions prior to or on the first paymentdue date, transferring by means of one or more data messages amounts ofmoney from a monetary source corresponding to the customer to a secondaccount, where the sum of the transferred amounts of money isapproximately equal to or more than the first payment amount, thetransfers being adjusted in at least one of timing and amount so as toavoid depleting the funds reserved for payment of the second financialobligation. And in addition, the method includes in a single transactionprior to or on the first payment due date, transferring from the secondaccount, by means of one or more data messages, an amount of moneyapproximately equal to or more than the first payment amount to anaccount held or controlled by the first creditor, thereby meeting thefirst financial obligation without reducing, avoiding, or deferring anyportion of the first financial obligation.

The features and advantages described herein are not all-inclusive and,in particular, many additional features and advantages will be apparentto one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings,specification, and claims. Moreover, it should be noted that thelanguage used in the specification has been principally selected forreadability and instructional purposes, and not to limit the scope ofthe inventive subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully fromthe following detailed description taken in conjunction with thedrawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a local and remote system, according to one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a web page produced by an embodiment of the presentinvention, and its interaction with various components of one embodimentof the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, various aspects of the present inventionwill be described. For purposes of explanation, specific configurationsand details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understandingof the present invention. However, it will also be apparent to oneskilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced withoutthe specific details presented herein. For example, the invention isfrequently described in terms of managing finances in anticipation ofpayment of an estimated tax obligation to a taxing authority. However,it will be clear to one skilled in the art that the present inventioncan be applied to the satisfaction of any financial obligation.

Furthermore, well-known features may be omitted or simplified herein inorder not to obscure the present invention. The processes presentedherein are not inherently related to any particular computer or otherapparatus. Various general purpose systems may be used with programs inaccordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient toconstruct a more specialized apparatus to perform embodiments of amethod according to embodiments of the present invention. Embodiments ofa structure for a variety of these systems appears from the descriptionherein. In addition, embodiments of the present invention are notdescribed with reference to any particular programming language. It willbe appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used toimplement the teachings of the invention as described herein.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the discussionsherein, it is appreciated that throughout the specification discussionsutilizing data processing or manipulation terms such as “processing”,“computing”, “calculating”, “determining”, or the like, typically referto the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system, orsimilar electronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transformdata represented as physical, such as electronic, quantities within thecomputing system's registers and/or memories into other data similarlyrepresented as physical quantities within the computing system'smemories, registers or other such information storage, transmission ordisplay devices.

Embodiments described in each of U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,573 B1 to Piehl etal, issued May 24, 2005, US Publication No. 2002/0198832 A1 to Agee etal., published Dec. 26, 2002, US Publication No. 2002/0178039 A1 toKennedy, published Nov. 28, 2002, Internal Revenue Service form 1040-ESpayment voucher, State of New Jersey form NJ-1040-ES NJ gross income taxforms, the First Farmers and Merchants Bank Christmas Club Plan, theColumbia Gas of Pennsylvania and Columbia Gas of Maryland AutomatedDebit Payment Program, Paypal payment plans and options, and thedirectpaymentplaning.com website, may be used in accordance with thepresent invention, and are all incorporated herein by reference in theirentirely.

Embodiments of the present invention may enable the customer toperiodically allocate small amounts of money that collectively amount toan estimated tax due to a taxing authority. For example, the customermay set aside monies on a weekly basis for payment of income taxes andsocial security taxes. Embodiments of the present invention may besuitable for customers that are sole proprietors, single member limitedliability companies, or partners in a partnership, however, any taxpaying entity that has to pay estimated taxes and plan for such paymentsthrough in the course of its operations are considered “customers” inthe descriptions set forth herein.

Embodiments of the present invention may provide an automated method andsystem for periodically impounding monies from a customer's bankaccount, constituting portions of a financial obligation such as anestimated tax for the customer, and accumulating sufficient funds tomeet tax payments. The estimated tax may include a predicted amount ofmoney due to the taxing authority and a time and/or date by when thepayment is due. The estimated tax may be generated, for example, by anautomated mechanism, based on personal and/or financial informationinput by the customer, or input by a tax professional on behalf of thecustomer, for example, via a graphical user interface, such as graphicaluser interface 220, described in further detail below in reference toFIG. 2. Personal and/or financial information may include, for example,a filing status requiring the use of form W-2 or schedule C of form1040, an annual or quarterly income, a number of dependents, etc. Moniesmay be impounded from a monetary source selected by the customer, forexample, a personal or business bank account, or some other accountunder the control of the customer. The customer may authorize theautomated payment mechanism to periodically impound or transfer monies,for example, by providing an access code to the customer's bank accountusing a secure channel, for example, over the Internet. The customer mayprovide monies, for example, according to a predefined contract oragreement.

Embodiments of the present invention may include a computer or computingsystem to maintain customer accounts, automatically track and/or recordestimated tax payments for the customer, and automatically deduct fromcustomer accounts amounts necessary to meet taxing authority paymentrequirements. Practitioners of ordinary skill will recognize that afinancial account in a computer system is a set of data stored in thesystem that are related to the customer or account owner or the taxingauthority, including data representing the amount of money held in theaccount or for the benefit of the customer or taxing authority or otheraccount owner. Storage of the data is typically by means of well knownmass storage devices, including disk drives, optical drives or otherdata storage technologies.

FIG. 1 depicts a local and remote system, according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. Local computer 10 may include a memory 5,processor 7, monitor or output device 8, and mass storage device 9.Local computer 10 may include an operating system 12 and supportingsoftware 14 (e.g., a web browser or other suitable local interpreter orsoftware), and may operate a local client process or software 16 (e.g.,JavaScript or other suitable code operated by the supporting software14) to produce an interactive display such as a web page for providing acustomer with a graphical user interface, such as graphical userinterface 220, described in further detail below in reference to FIG. 2.

In one embodiment of the invention, local computer 10 may acceptcustomer input, maintain customer accounts including automaticallytracking and/or recording estimated tax payment requirements for thecustomer, establish security measures, for example, verifying customeridentity, and automatically deducting from customer accounts amountsnecessary to meet a tax authority payment requirements. An automatedpayment server 40 may be used for tracking estimated tax payments of oneor more customers and a bank server 60, selected by the customer, may bea source from which monies may be periodically deducted for taxpayments. Automated payment server 40 may store, for example, indatabase 42, estimated tax payment requirements for the customer,security information and account information, which may be transmittedto bank server 60 for executing payment operations. In variousembodiments, automated payment server 40 and bank server 60 may beoperated by the same or different sources, for example, an automatedpayment service or bank service, respectively.

In some embodiments, automated payment server 40 may record a history ofpayments for each customer, for example, as an account balanceassociated with each customer's accounts. Bank server 60 may include adatabase 62, for example, for recording customer account details andhistories. In some embodiments, customers may have access to thetransaction history of their accounts, for example, using a bank websitesuch as website 200, described below in reference to FIG. 2. In someembodiments, the customer may have control of and may adjust the amountor schedule of the automatic or periodic payments or may block oroverwrite such payments.

In some embodiments, automated payment server 40 may transmit a signalor message to bank server 60, for example, periodically to impound ortransfer an amount of money from the account held by the customer.Messages may include data packets and may be transmitted and/or receivedbetween customer local computers 10, automated payment servers 40, banksservers 60, credit card machines, ATMs, and/or other payment devices.According to embodiments of the present invention, bank server 60 mayperiodically impounding an amount of money from the account held by thecustomer, where each amount impounded is less than the estimated tax andthe combined value of the amounts impounded by the date substantiallymatch the estimated tax.

Bank server 60 may automatically impound monies from the customermonetary source, periodically, for example, hourly, daily, weekly,monthly, quarterly or annually. In an exemplary embodiment, monies maybe automatically impounded at a frequency, for example, on a weeklybasis, to minimize the amount of monies impounded at one time. Oncesufficient impounded funds are accumulated, for example, in athird-party account such as an escrow account, and a payment is due to ataxing authority, the payment may be made from the third party account.In another embodiment, monies may be automatically impounded whensufficient monies have accumulated in the customer's monetary source,for example, when a monthly earning is acquired. In yet anotherembodiment, monies may only be impounded upon approval from thecustomer. The impounded monies may be submitted to the appropriatetaxing authority automatically by a third party on behalf of thecustomer at a time, depending on the tax status of the customer, taxesmay be paid directly on a quarterly basis or at other times.

In some embodiments, automated payment server 40 may manage tax paymentswhile taking into account other payments, such as monthly bills,mortgages, or other expenses. Based on financial information, forexample, provided by a customer, a fixed, variable, or estimated amountof monies may be reserved for various predicted expenses other than taxpayment. For example, in some embodiments monies are automaticallyimpounded from a customer's bank account when the monies in the account,excluding monies allocated to other payments or expenses, are determinedto be sufficient.

In some embodiments, server 40 may impound monies from various sources.For example, a monetary source may include a bank account, a stockportfolio, a trust fund, etc. For example, if monies are impounded fromstocks, impounding may include automatically selling a certain value ofstocks. Alternatively, the customer account might automatically borrowmoney from the bank hosting the account, with the stock portfolio ascollateral. The customer and/or system may use preferential planning toselect the optimal stocks to sell to acquire the necessary monies fortax payments. For example, if tax payments are deducted from multiplecustomer accounts operated by multiple banks, multiple bank servers 60may be used, for example, each bank server 60 maintaining accounts forrespective banks. Impounding monies may include for example, deducting,transferring, or moving monies from a customer's monetary source toanother location. In one exemplary embodiment, the monies may betransferred to a third-party tax payment account. In another exemplaryembodiment, the monies may be transferred to a customer monetary sourcereserved for tax payment purposes. In another embodiment, impoundingmonies may not include transferring money, but placing restrictions,warnings or limitations on the customer's use of the money. For example,if a customer attempts to withdraw a portion of money allocated for taxpayment from an account, the transaction may be blocked or a warningsign may appear on a payment interface such as an automated tellermachine (ATM) or a for example on graphical user interface 220 of a bankor transaction service website, described in further detail below inreference to FIG. 2. In some embodiments, the customer may have controlof and may block or overwrite such restrictions. Other methods oroperations for impounding monies may be used.

By the date the tax payment is due, sufficient funds for tax paymentshould have been accumulated by the periodic impounding mechanism. Bythe date payment is due, automated payment server may calculateestimated tax to deduct from the customer's account and may transmitpayment instructions via net 100 to bank server 60, for example, basedon the estimated tax calculated. Payment instructions, based on theestimated tax, may include authorization for processing a tax payment ortransfer of funds, the amount to be paid and the source and destinationfor the transfer of funds. Bank server 60 may execute a payment,according to the payment instructions. In some embodiments, payments tothe taxing authority may include submitting a customer's personal and/orfinancial information, including for example social security numberassociated with the user, the amount to be paid, and appropriateinstructions and security data.

Automated payment server 40 may include security and utility code 24 maygenerate security or verification information; such verificationinformation may be used to allow the appropriate customer to monitorand/or control their accounts for payment of taxes. Such verificationinformation may also be used for metering or billing customers for useof services. In one embodiment, security or verification informationincludes both the identity of the client process and a domain name. Thepairing of the domain name and the client identity may serve as anauthentication key. Security or verification information may correspondto or identify the local client in other manners. In some embodiments,automated payment server 40 may analyze customer input and/orauthentication information received, for example, from computer 10, togenerate authentication or security conditions or information.

FIG. 2 depicts a web page produced by an embodiment of the presentinvention, and its interaction with various components of one embodimentof the present invention. Web page 200 may, for example, be displayed onmonitor 8. Remote client site 50 may operate web page 200. Web page 200may include a graphical user interface 220 that may accept an input froma customer such as personal and/or financial information and access tothe customer's monetary source.

Customer input may be stored in automated payment server 40, remoteclient site 50, and/or bank server 60, for example, in databases 42, 52,and 62, respectively. Automated payment server 40 may receive customerinput via remote client site 50 or directly from web page 200, via net100. Customer input may be information specific to a customer, such asthe identity of the customer, a filing status requiring the use of formW-2 or schedule C of form 1040, an annual or quarterly income, a numberof dependents, an amount of estimated tax payment for the year, thelocation and access information to a monetary source of funds to paytaxes. In one embodiment, the customer may provide information requiredin standard tax forms.

In some embodiments, customers may be required to register or enterpreliminary information to enlist payment services according toembodiments of the invention. For example, customers may be required toprovide personal and/or financial information using graphical userinterface 220. Required information may include the customer's name,address, social security number, monetary source information, amount,schedule, and/or restrictions for impounding monies, email address,telephone and fax numbers, etc. Each customer may provide identificationinformation, such as a pin number, which may be required to access thesystem.

It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that thethird party account to which the impounded payments are made can be aprofessional accountant or other service provider. Alternativeembodiments of the invention can provide that the service provider haveauthenticated access to the customer's accounts or that the customerprovide the third party service provider the information that determinesthe estimated tax amount. The service provider can then access, modifyor set up the account on the third party servers that request theimpounding of monies from the customer's bank accounts. In this way, theservice provider determines what the impounding amount is and collectsand stores the impounded monies. The third party service provider then,through messages between the third party servers and the IRS servers,make the tax payment that is due.

Although customer interface is depicted using a computer module, otheroutput modules may be used according to embodiments of the presentinvention. For example, an ATM, telephone, facsimile, or otherdevice-based service may provide automated payment services as describedherein.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated indetail, it is to be clearly understood that the same is by way ofillustration and example only, and is not to be taken by way oflimitation. It is appreciated that various features of the inventionwhich are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodimentsmay also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely,various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described inthe context of a single embodiment may also be provided separately or inany suitable combination. It is appreciated that the particularembodiment described in the Appendices is intended only to provide anextremely detailed disclosure of the present invention and is notintended to be limiting. It is appreciated that any of the softwarecomponents of the present invention may, if desired, be implemented inROM (read-only memory) form. The software components may, generally, beimplemented in hardware, if desired, using conventional techniques.

The spirit and scope of the present invention are to be limited only bythe terms of the appended claims. It should be noted that the flowdiagrams are used herein to demonstrate various aspects of theinvention, and should not be construed to limit the present invention toany particular logic flow or logic implementation. The described logicmay be partitioned into different logic blocks (e.g., programs, modules,functions, or subroutines) without changing the overall results orotherwise departing from the true scope of the invention. Oftentimes,logic elements may be added, modified, omitted, performed in a differentorder, or implemented using different logic constructs (e.g., logicgates, looping primitives, conditional logic, and other logicconstructs) without changing the overall results or otherwise departingfrom the true scope of the invention.

Computer program logic implementing all or part of the functionalitypreviously described herein may be embodied in various forms, including,but in no way limited to, a source code form, a computer executableform, and various intermediate forms (e.g., forms generated by anassembler, compiler, linker, or locator.) Source code may include aseries of computer program instructions implemented in any of variousprogramming languages (e.g., an object code, an assembly language, or ahigh-level language such as FORTRAN, C, C++, JAVA, or HTML) for use withvarious operating systems or operating environments. The source code maydefine and use various data structures and communication messages. Thesource code may be in a computer executable form (e.g., via aninterpreter), or the source code may be converted (e.g., via atranslator, assembler, or compiler) into a computer executable form.

The computer program may be fixed in any form (e.g., source code form,computer executable form, or an intermediate form) either permanently ortransitorily in a tangible storage medium, such as a semiconductormemory device (e.g., a RAM, ROM, PROM, EEPROM, or Flash-ProgrammableRAM), a magnetic memory device (e.g., a diskette or fixed disk), anoptical memory device (e.g., a CD-ROM), a PC card (e.g., PCMCIA card),or other memory device. The computer program may be fixed in any form ina signal that is transmittable to a computer using any of variouscommunication technologies, including, but in no way limited to, analogtechnologies, digital technologies, optical technologies, wirelesstechnologies, networking technologies, and internetworking technologies.The computer program may be distributed in any form as a removablestorage medium with accompanying printed or electronic documentation(e.g., shrink wrapped software or a magnetic tape), preloaded with acomputer system (e.g., on system ROM or fixed disk), or distributed froma server or electronic bulletin board over the communication system(e.g., the Internet or World Wide Web.)

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

In operation 300, a local client accepts financial information from acustomer. For example, a web page is loaded onto a local system and thecustomer enters information in a graphical user interface provided bythe system.

In operation 310, an automated payment server generates an estimated taxfor the customer, including an amount due to the taxing authority and adate by which the amount is due.

In operation 320, the automated payment server periodically send a bankserver a message to impound and/or transfer an amount of money from anaccount held by the customer, where each amount is less than theestimated tax and the combined value of the amounts impounded by thedate substantially match the estimated tax.

In operation 330, the bank server may periodically impound the amount ofmoney from the customer account indicated by the automated paymentserver in operation 320, and transfer it to a separate holding account.

In operation 340, by the date payment is due, the automated paymentserver may transmit payment instructions to the bank server based on theestimated tax generated in operation 310. Payment instructions, based onthe estimated tax, may include authorization for processing a taxpayment or transfer of funds, the amount to be paid and the source anddestination for the transfer of funds.

In operation 350, the bank server may execute a payment from the holdingaccount to the taxing authority, according to the payment instructions.In some embodiments, payments may include submitting a customer'spersonal and/or financial information, including for example socialsecurity number associated with the user, the amount to be paid, andappropriate instructions and security data.

Other operations or series of operations may be used.

The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has beenpresented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light ofthis disclosure. It is intended that the scope of the invention belimited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claimsappended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A financial management method executed by a dataprocessing system for automatic payment of a first financial obligationof a customer without reducing, avoiding, or deferring any portion ofthe first financial obligation, the first financial obligation being dueto a first creditor by a first payment due date, the method comprising:receiving financial data corresponding to the customer, the financialdata including data regarding the first financial obligation as well asdata regarding a second financial obligation of the customer; during anescrow period leading up to the first payment due date, reservingcustomer funds for payment of the second financial obligation; in atleast two transactions prior to or on the first payment due date,transferring by means of one or more data messages amounts of money froma monetary source corresponding to the customer to a second account,where the sum of the transferred amounts of money is approximately equalto or more than the first payment amount, the transfers being adjustedin at least one of timing and amount so as to avoid depleting the fundsreserved for payment of the second financial obligation; and in a singletransaction prior to or on the first payment due date, transferring fromthe second account, by means of one or more data messages, an amount ofmoney approximately equal to or more than the first payment amount to anaccount held or controlled by the first creditor, thereby meeting thefirst financial obligation without reducing, avoiding, or deferring anyportion of the first financial obligation.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein reserving customer funds for payment of the second financialobligation includes reserving a fixed amount of funds.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein reserving customer funds for payment of the secondfinancial obligation includes reserving a variable amount of funds. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein reserving customer funds for payment ofthe second financial obligation includes reserving an estimated amountof funds.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the funds reserved forpayment of the second financial obligation are held in the same monetarysource from which the amounts of money are transferred to the secondaccount.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: monitoring duringthe escrow period an amount of funds available to the customer;calculating a net amount of available funds by subtracting the fundsreserved for payment of the second financial obligation from the amountof funds available to the customer; and determining at least one of whento transfer money to the second account and how much money to transferto the second account according to the net amount of available funds. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein monitoring the amount of funds availableto the customer includes monitoring a balance of funds in the monetarysource from which the amounts of money are transferred to the secondaccount.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first creditor is ataxing authority.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first financialobligation is an estimated tax payment.
 10. The method of claim 9,further comprising determining the estimated tax due as a function ofthe received financial data.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thesecond financial obligation is payable on a monthly basis.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the second financial obligation is a mortgagepayment.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the transfers to the secondaccount are made according to a schedule of periodic transfers, theamounts of the transfers being adjusted so as to avoid depleting thefunds reserved for payment of the second financial obligation.
 14. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the transfers to the second account are madeaccording to a schedule of transfer amounts, the timing of the transfersbeing adjusted so as to avoid depleting the funds reserved for paymentof the second financial obligation.
 15. The method of claim 1 where thesecond account belongs to an entity other than the customer.
 16. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the monetary source is at least one of a bankaccount, a stock portfolio account, and a trust fund.
 17. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising borrowing money so as to provide funds fortransfer to the second account.
 18. The method of claim 1 wherein thetransfers to the second account occur approximately one of hourly,daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually.
 19. The method of claim1, wherein the amounts of money transferred from the monetary source tothe second account remain accessible to the customer until they havebeen transferred to the account held or controlled by the firstcreditor.
 20. The method of claim 1, further comprising during theescrow period reserving customer funds for payment of a plurality offinancial obligations other than the first financial obligation.
 21. Acomputer-readable non-transitory medium containing instructions that canbe executed by a computer, causing the computer to perform the method ofclaim 1.